White-tile Syndrome

Did you know about RAK Ceramics, a UAE based company worth approximately an eye popping USD 1 billion? Even I did not know of this until a saw a feature on CNN Middle-east. What is more surprising is that Ras Al Khaimah a relatively modest emirate compared to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, supplies it’s produce to almost the entire world. If this information alone was not enough to make me dazed they are also into production of tableware, serving a huge hospitality industry worldwide. Here’s more they are officially the world’s largest supplier in ceramics.

Nevertheless what reminded me of that wonderful documentary is really about the tiles in my newly rented apartment. I am sure they too are from RAK ceramics, it would really silly if it was imported from China, with largest producer of ceramics just right next emirate. The tiles in the bathroom and in the kitchen are sparkling white. For most people that would be a very exquisite look, but for me it’s causing me severe OCD issues.

Now confession time – I have a fixation or let’s say a mania to maintain a clean house, which sometimes slightly borders over to the insanity side when it’s dirty. This obsession is only to do with MY house, Even my mum’s house or in-laws place, I really do not mind, in fact I encourage them to not bother cleaning and instead spend time with me, I like that bit more. So do not panic, you will not be judged if I were visiting your place. I would rather give you a helping hand if only you ask for, else I will be happy to be at your place, and even more with some lovely food to eat.

Coming back to my problem with white tiles is that I cannot comb my hair in the bathroom as it natural for it fall and makes not so amazing patterns. I secretly wish that my husband would cling wrap himself just before entering the house. Let’s not even go over to the kitchen, my family including myself, we love to eat cereals, how can it be ever possible that even a little crumbles won’t fall on the floor.

Image: gettyimages.ae

Once vacuumed and mopped it does look stunningly impressive and what’s more, I must thank the guys at RAK ceramics and Emaar for letting me know how difficult it is to manage the white tiled floors (note to my self when we plan our own home). However with a little help from the hubby can help go a long way and I am almost certain that he will be reading I am leaving him notes for improvement:

1. Take a cue from your daughter who removes her shoes once she enters the house.
2. Since you feel extremely cold in the house, then let the house slippers be or house ONLY purpose and not for venturing out. 
3. It would greatly help if you make use of this remarkable invention called the plate when you feel like eating you all time snack, the ever crumbling Wheatabix.
4. And lastly, give some serious thought to the cling wrap idea which I suggested earlier.

 I know I am being mean but hey, it is Saturday and this download helps me to cope with the White Tile Syndrome. Also for anyone at RAK ceramics reading this should seize upon this feedback and start creating a camouflage variant of white tiles at once – believe you me it would be a best seller.  On that note I will leave you with a very impressive feature on RAK Ceramics on CNN

A must watch for some real inspiration:  http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/business/2013/09/06/marketplace-middle-east-billion-dollar-tiles.cnn.html 

On shaky grounds

By now everyone would have known of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake rocking Iran. Sending little panic parcels to the nearby countries that includes us in here Dubai and back home in Delhi. Well that is really the factual description of what happened. And if you go by facebook or other news source you might start feeling a little dizzy.

On ground the situation was entirely different. After a tiring workout session with the trainer, I was catching on some sleep. A few minutes past 2 in the afternoon, hubby calls in to make plans for a movie. Thankfully since it was for a movie, I eventually didn't mind taking the call at all.

Then shortly I receive another call for the hubby, “Sangi there is an earthquake, the building is shaking”. “I can’t feel anything here”, I said to him. “Well then maybe you are earthquake-proof”, says the darling hubby, slowing treading on dangerous grounds.

Image: gettyimages

Telling myself it was nothing I thought of getting back to sleep, just then I hear messages flooding on Whatsapp. Most the messages were coming in from neighbours in the community and some of these messages read as below

“I felt the earthquake now!”

“Yes, offices in festival city evacuated”

“My bed was moving”

“My sofa moved”

Another message read as, “my lights are swinging”. Ok this one really scared and made me got off my bed.

Then the message from my very thoughtful neighbour’s, “what if something happens to the nuclear plants?”.

With this thought, my sleep went away and slowly peaked out of the window. The office-goers in the complex bang opposite to my house was on the road. Then the next message on the phone was, “watch out for the after shocks, it would be wise to dress up and be ready should we need to run out”.  

Thinking to myself, maybe I really am earthquake-proof, I got ready to pick-up the hubby from the metro station. He turned up unusually early thanks to the earthquake I never felt. And then sipping a cup of tea and discussing the earthquake story, the hubby with a smirk on his face says, “Since you are shaking things up all the time, maybe the earthquake had a calming effect on you”. 

My massive problem of passive road rage

It is confession time yet again at Sangrywords – on popular demand, this time on my passive road rage.

Fasten your seat belts, here is the laundry list:

1.     Yes it’s true, I swear at people who cut the queue jump in front of my car without indicators to save a mirco-minute.

2.     The even more annoying ones are those who tail-gate as they are in urgent need to attend to a severe case of diarrhoea.

3.     Must not forget the ones who talk on the phone and do not mind even if they are out their lanes.

4.     Aha and lets also mention those ladies who apply make up while driving in the speed lane.

5.     And then are those who drive at a snail's-pace-60 where you can go upto 100km/hr.

6.     The frustrating and tentative jaywalking pedestrians.

7.     The last one are the kinds that I have witnessed only in this part of the world - driving with one foot resting on the window or the dashboard (no, not a typo!).

What’s so passive about all these things you may ask?

The reality is, all of the above are acceptable as long as I am at the driver seat - I can duck, dive and drive away. But all bets are off when I am at the passenger seat. I was busted recently when my husband  caught me swearing  a not so innocent rash driver. And just after that, my husband found my first edit of Take care, Not chances post to be bordering on being snobbish.

After a lot of soul searching, I am left to wonder if should be attending a Road-rage anonymous group (passive division). If there isn't such a thing - perhaps, I could be the founding member and the patron.

I am currently on the lookout for fellow addicts. Let me know if you any of you suffer from the same condition by sharing your story. 

Take care, not chances

There are few things that make me really angry. Somewhere on the top of the chart are callous actions of people who put their own lives at risk. Even worse, are the actions of people who put others life at risk. But an event I witnessed over the weekend made me re-think about my whole definition of callousness.

Imagine a busy street, really busy street. All you can hear are the noises of buzzing cars and screeching tyres. While driving down that street, I notice a young mother swiftly manoeuvring her 4-wheeler through busy traffic. Only a slight problem though, that 4-wheeler happens to be a pram! What are Mom, Baby and a Pram doing on a busy road? Don't get me wrong, there is a neatly-laid, well-marked, pedestrian walkway running parallel to their flight-path.

As if these antics were not enough, I was appalled to see the toddler was not even strapped properly on to the buggy. Just when I thought I had seen it all, the duo (or trio should I say) makes an even more daring move. Weaving through a barrage of impatient SUVs and jumping the median, they somehow get to the other side. They then continue their journey - no, not through neatly-laid, well-marked, pedestrian walkway on the other side, but on the road.

The Mom looked in a hurry and the baby who was stretching herself out of the pram seemed to enjoy the ride. I am sure they had something very important to do, was running late and was in a rush to exit the busy road as fast as anyone could. But really, is it worth risking your life for saving a couple of minutes?

Jaywalking may come across as a harmless act of darting across the road. Here in Dubai, jaywalking is illegal and would burn a hole in your pocket should you get caught. But the real point is more straightforward - it is just not worth it! And remember, our big city is not really known for careful and considerate drivers. Take care, not chances.

A Himalayan Perspective

Himalayan mountains are the world’s highest. It consists of a series of gigantic peaks including the Everest and K2. It is no wonder then the word Himalayan is often used as an adjective to signify something really huge. Like as in Himalayan blunder.

So when I saw on the TV about the Himalayan earthquake. I assumed it to be massive, just like the mountains. At 6.9-magnitude, it is definitely a strong quake but a seismologist would not classify this as a massive one.

Compare this with the 9.0 magnitude Japan quake that triggered tsunami earlier during the year. Intensity of which was over a thousand times stronger than the recent Himalayan quake. Reason for such a big jump in the intensity between seemingly small numbers? Ok, this is going to get really technical - the Richter scale readings are on logarithmic scale (courtesy Mr. Walking Wikipedia in my life). I am digressing now.

So, is Himalayan quake really Himalayan in the sense of the word? I think it depends who you ask. To a sit-at-home Mom watching the news in Dubai, it may seem relatively small. A seismologist may classify this as a ‘strong’ quake and for you the reader, it may be something else. It is unlikely to be massive or Himalayan for most of us.

But think about the families of the 100 people who lost their lives, thousands of people who have lost their livelihood or residents of one of the 100,000 homes that were damaged in the quake. For all of them this has been massive, a Himalayan quake, both literally and figuratively.

So next time when you read about a minor accident, small terror incident or a 6.9 earthquake – spare a thought for people whom it may be major, big or a 9.0. 


Better still, spare some change for those people who are trying to rebuild their lives. The link below has details on how you can help


http://sikkimnow.blogspot.com/2011/09/chief-ministers-relief-fund.html 

The Seven Habits of Highly Annoying People

Some people have a knack to bring out the worst in me. I have been trying hard to reform myself, but do what I may, these people tend to succeed in throwing me off-track every now and then. This blog is my latest endeavour to fight them off - by naming and noticing those demons.

1. People who think they are superior to others and treat fellow human beings like dirt

2. Folks who frequently interrupt and force down their beliefs, thoughts, likes and dislikes upon others

3. Individuals who think they-know-it-all and take it to the extreme and think they know you better than you know yourself

4. Have you come across people who act like an on-line comparison sites ? I have this but you don't have it, mine is better than yours.

5. FAKE people - they are not just pretentious, they are Finicky, Arrogant, Killjoy and Ego-centric.

6. People who whine and moan all the time - just the thought of their company is depressing.

7.  Lastly, people who criticize too much. See I told you they bring the worst in me!  

P.S. - All the demons described above are factual. However, I cannot guarantee any exact resemblance to anyone who is dead, alive or pretending to be dead. 

The Beginning

Hello – I am Sangeeta Reghu Nair and I have finally decided to write. I have been pondering over this for the last three years. But laziness had got better of me all this while.

My blog will be about Motherhood, Humor, Life, Confessions, Toddlers, Dubai, Inspiration, Passion, Food, Books, 30 Day Challenges, Disaster/ Issues and People that I am passionate about. I also hope to l feature guest write-ups to make it more interactive. The idea is to interact with as many people as possible from diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas and life stories.

                                  

Before I sign-off a bit myself - I am a stay-at-home full-time mom. I live in Dubai with my husband Saju and my gorgeous baby girl Smera. You will read about them on my blog regularly.

Happy blogging !!!!!!!!!!!!!